Student Projects

A compilation of AMADEUS students’ school projects and work.

Competition of the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (BPB)

Grade 6 German A students and Mr. Bencsik

As a closing activity of their Units about Vienna and International Friendships, Grade 6 German A students of Mr. Bencsik participated in the Competition of the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (BPB).

Students did several hours of research about prejudices and stereotypes, interviewed an expert for one hour and prepared six posters during their free time to enhance tolerance and respect within the multicultural and multilingual AMADEUS community. A jury of 45 members found their project entitled ‘Schluss mit dem Schubladendenken’ (Finish thinking in categories) as one of the best 30 of the 2000 participating Austrian, German and Swiss schools’, and awarded a prize of 100 Euros.

Congratulations!

AMADEUS Grade 8 Self-Portraits

AMADEUS Vienna places strong focus on our students´ artistic self-expression.

AMADEUS Grade 8 students explored tone, symmetry and proportion using a range of media and techniques. They discussed and took inspiration from number of artists including 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗼, 𝗣𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼 and 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝘆 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗵𝗼𝗹, who are all known for their unique approaches to portraiture. Students then experimented with different ways to incorporate self-expression into their work before making their final responses on canvas.

Students artworks are displayed throughout our three school buildings.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕ü𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲!

Language Academy Essays

We are so proud of the first cohort of Language Academy students who have recently qualified to move up to English B. In just four months, our students were able to achieve the extraordinary!

Onwards and Upwards in English

Language Academy is a special intensive Programme of immersion English that develops skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. What is most gratifying to see, is that by developing a shared language through English we are able to find a common voice through which we are able, even more, to celebrate what makes us different and special! We would like to share two essays written by two of our Grade 10s, who recently graduated from the Language Academy:

“Untitled” by Koharu Harada

I speak Japanese because I am from Japan. I actually don’t remember my first word but I think it would be strange if a baby would notice that, ‘This is my first word!’ Even my mother doesn’t know, I think. I hope I said “Mama”.

Of course, Japanese is in my dreams. Even when I speak to animals in my dreams, they use Japanese.

I have learned only English. I have never learnt another language. But in Japan they focus on writing and listening. I wanted to learn speaking more. I like English. For me, the person who can speak English clearly, looks very cool. I hope I will use English to communicate. It is important that we can speak English, if you want to speak many people in the world. Not only speaking other languages but also accepting each culture is important to communicate.

Sometimes I couldn’t explain my feelings well in English. But I am trying.

My favourite word is “Egu” in Japanese. It means kind of “What the hell!” but it can be used for good things. I can’t explain exactly in English so I will write some conversations to explain:

Person A says: “I killed someone.” Person B: “Egu!!!”

Person A says: “I passed the exam”!!!! Person B: “Egu!!!”

Person A says: “Look at that pretty moon!! Person B: “Egu!!!!”

We can use “Egu” for all situations…I like Japanese. It has so many variations and I know that Japanese sounds cute for foreign people!

My favourite English word is “like”. “Like” has many meanings. When I feel good about something, I can use “like”. In Japanese, “like” means “shuki” but “shuki” is heavier than “like”. In English, you can use “like” for example “Oh, I like your ….” to someone even if you don’t know the person. However, if I say “shuki” to someone whom I don’t know, it is so strange. That’s why I like “like” in English. It has a good meaning and it can easily make someone happy.

“Feeling Inside Language” by Taiyo Tokunaga

My first language is Japanese, since I was born and my second language is English, since three years ago. My first words were “Mom” and “Dad” in Japanese. I think almost everyone’s first words are also the same as mine in their own language. I usually dream in Japanese and think in Japanese, but after learning English at AMADEUS, I often think in English and can communicate in English. Sometimes there are words that I can explain in Japanese but that I cannot explain in English. In Japanese there are also words that are the same as English, because these words are from English. I like these kinds of words, because they sound like special words…

My favourite word in Japanese is “いただきます”. We speak this word when we start to eat our food. It means, “appreciation for food” and shows that we respect the food. Most people do not eat all of the food which they take. This is seen as disrespectful because in Japan, we eat all of what we take, because we respect the food.

In addition, there is “ごちそうさま”in Japanese; this also means, “thanks for the food” but it is said when the people finish eating. This means that we say thanks for the food twice. I think this is a great thing. It is a part of our culture. Maybe I like the culture more than the word, but the word is made from the culture, so l like this word.

There is also a good word in English. This is: “You are welcome”. People say this word when someone has said “thank you”. Everyone often says, “thank you” and I think it might be a normal thing to say “you are welcome”, but it is a very important thing to do. This is because when people say, “you are welcome”, you feel good that you are not ignored and then you think you will say it again. I had an experience when I was ignored after I said “thank you” and I felt bad. These words keep our mental health well, so we should keep saying these words. We can make everyone feel better through language.

Forest School – Primary Years Programme

Exploring the environment, building shelter, making fire, and roasting marshmallows has never been more fun! Ms Elizabeth Lind, Grade 3 Homeroom Teacher, explains:

“Education isn’t always text books, white boards and classrooms. Here, at Amadeus International School, we always encourage our children to think broadly, explore and be curious. We are so fortunate to be able to utilize our stunning outdoor campus to promote outside education.

Forest club allows children to develop themselves through healthy engagement with risk, problem solving and self-discovery, all within a natural environment in a hands-on thoughtful manner. Students and teachers work as a real team where students’ ideas are the drive behind the adventures; we have had more fun than you could ever imagine!

Together, we constructed fabulous shelters and were able to enjoy a cup of herbal tea on a wet soggy day. Bounding through our ‘jungle’ hunting for (laminated) targets with our homemade bow and arrows has definitely been a highlight. We have made real tents with some serious time constraints and overcome frustration trying to fit the tent back in the bag after! As a team, we collected appropriate wood to make our own blazing fires, where of course we could enjoy a roasted marshmallow or two.

‘My favourite part was being outside during the thick snow and building a real igloo for us all to shelter in’

says Esti from Grade 5.

All in all, whether it be igloo making, bow and arrow crafting or simply constructing shelters using wild resources; it truly is special to watch our students thrive in the outdoors. Pure joy!”

AMADEUS Ghost Story Competition

We proudly present AMADEUS selection of bone-chilling short stories to keep you awake at night.

October saw budding student writers mastering the fine art of the ghost story. The MYP and DP Ghost Story Competition attracted entries in Russian, English and Spanish.
There were two criteria: first, that each story must feature Vienna; second, a limit of 1500 words.

Of particular note was Ruslan Zavieriukha’s wonderfully descriptive story that took Vienna’s graveyards as inspiration, which won the Russian section of the competition. If, meanwhile, the saying ‘character is plot’ is true, then Sofia Santamaria’s story is surely masterful in its psychological portrayal and deserves its first place in the Spanish section of the contest; so too the psychologically complex and stylistically polished entry by Grigory Govorov, which won the English prize in the DP section. In her story set on a Vienna bus, Anna Oskalne, winner of the MYP English section of the competition, shows how powerful T.S. Eliot’s objective correlative may be in the main character’s fixation with a pair of new wellington boots.

We look forward to holding the contest again next year, and opening it up to entries in more languages.

AMADEUS Juniors winner

Ruslan wrote the best ghost story in Russian.

AMADEUS Juniors winner

Anna wrote the best ghost story in English.
Read an excerpt from her story here.

AMADEUS Seniors winner

Grigory wrote the best ghost story in English.
Read his full story here.

AMADEUS Seniors winner

Sofia wrote the best ghost story in Spanish.
Read her full story here.

Grade 12 Compositions

Dear AMADEUS community,

I am very happy to present the compositions of our current Grade 12 Music cohort, which you will find below. Over the course of the two-year programme, IB DP Music students engage in an in-depth study of music in which they learn how to examine different repertoires and enrich their performative and compositional skills. All compositions (with the exception of The Abyss) were written in Musescore, a notation software that generates an audio file/performance of the students’ work. The Abyss, is an electronic music piece created in Ableton, a digital audio workstation.

I hope you will enjoy these pieces as much I have. For an optimal listening experience, I recommend the use of external speakers or headphones. My sincere congratulations to Emily, Rabbina, Navid, and Laurenz for their hard work and beautiful music!

Paolo Tornitore, DP Music Teacher at AMADEUS Vienna

NAVID OWJI

I have always found the combination of piano and cello to be very elegant and intriguing. This inspired me to compose my first piece, Drowning in Thoughts, a composition in C minor written in rondo form (ABACA). In this piece, I have portrayed my thoughts and emotions through the melodic dialogue between the two instruments.

Dancing with the Wind is a piece that uses Middle Eastern rhythmic/melodic patterns, adapted to a western type of instrumentation and arrangement. I am originally from Iran and these types of patterns have always been an influential factor in my style of composing. For this piece, I used the time signature of 7/4 which can be usually found in Middle Eastern music. The pattern that I chose within this time signature is 2, 2, 3, which whilst performing at a high tempo, creates an elegant flow within the piece. I adopted the following structure A, B, C, B, D, A because I wanted to develop a simple phrase, have a solo section, and go back to the main simple rhythmic pattern at the end once again.

Drowning in Thoughts

Dancing with the Wind

RABBINA UZYKHANOVA

I am very proud of my two compositions Waltz and Bloom.

Having no previous experience with composing, it was quite an exciting challenge for me when I began to write my own music at the beginning of Grade 11. My goal was to compose two musical pieces of different styles.

Waltz is a composition for piano solo in C sharp minor. The piece is in a rondo form (ABACA) with the main theme in the introduction, a new melody in the second part, a modulation in the third, a culmination in the fourth, and eventually coming back to the first theme in the end. The main theme gives a mystical sense that travels throughout the whole piece.

Bloom is a composition for harp, violin, and cello. The piece is structured in 4 parts, each consisting of 16 bars. I tried to use flowing transitions between sections, with the melody line being alternated between the instruments.

LAURENZ HEINDL

The Abyss is a psychedelic electronic dance track. The piece features techno, moombahton, and trance elements. The first drop is dominated by an ‘acid’ rolling bassline. It uses techno ESC cymbals and kicks to create an industrial atmosphere and the typical snare sound usually found in moombahton.

Towards the second half of the first drop, a gated synth is introduced to produce a psychedelic effect. The second drop is preceded by a build consisting of a snare roll and white noise that creates tension. This section is announced by a phrase spoken by a classmate and it combines part of the first drop and the chords and melody presented in the break.

The whole piece is composed in one key and holds no harmonic complexity. The track’s complexity lies in the combination of sounds to create a psychedelic effect at the beginning and a euphoric atmosphere towards the end.

EMILY THOMPSON

Bobbie is a tumultuous piece for piano, the theme for which I wrote a day after the passing of a family member of mine. And so, the key is minor and the chord progression somewhat dissonant. My intention was to create an expressive piece for piano using the knowledge I have from classical training on flute. The structure is such that the theme is introduced then modulated and expanded upon with a somber ending that reiterates it in a new light. Over the year of writing the piece, my world view/disposition would be reflected by the music. The theme itself, a reflection of my grief, the modulated version in the middle section, a reflection of the turbulence and melancholia which accompanies grief, and the last part of the piece, I see as representing the need for resolution.

My second composition, Reformed, is an attempt on my part to use my knowledge of melody to thread together cello and B foot flute. Similarly, to my first composition, I realized that it was difficult to compose following a specific structure and when I tried, the musical development would fall flat. Therefore, I worked on keeping a balance between various melodic developments and the outline of a cohesive structure. I’m inclined to say, “let the music speak for itself,” but, I do have to acknowledge that the piece goes in a lot of directions and I hope this description is helpful for the listener.

Bobbie

Reformed

We welcome the opportunity for prospective students and their families to visit AMADEUS Vienna and learn more about our unique programme and inspiring school environment. Contact our Admissions team to ask your questions or schedule a tour.

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